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The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread


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And are you sure it's a good idea to have one thread for all the various products?

 

Because all of them use essentially the same software, I see nothing wrong with doing so. Whether you're using an N100 or a W20 doesn't make much difference.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Well that's an interesting and enlightening statement! I am completely ignorant about these products, so don't consider this an impertinent question - do you know this from aurender, some independent analysis, or your own assessment?

This matters to me as i'm looking at these types of products right now. thx.

 

I am an Aurender dealer. Yes, there are differences, mainly in terms of the digital outputs available. From a user standpoint working with the iPad app, it's very consistent across all the platforms.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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  • 1 month later...
Hi all,

 

AMM for PC is not showing on the Download page; can anyone confirm when it will be released? It has been delayed a few times now and was last due on April 15, IIRC.

 

It is not a critical issue though - it is still possible to folder browse.

 

Cheers.

 

I have been asking and hope that Harry Lee of Aurender will have an update when he is here for the AXPONA show in Chicago next weekend.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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91derlust, has your dealer been involved? If not I suggest that he should be the one researching this for you and working with Aurender to find a solution. Email him what you just posted. That said, yes, Aurender has been very busy lately, ranging from working on AMM for Windows to getting the last things worked out with the N10 for pricing and production. The integration of Tidal streaming was a significant project which took a lot of time -- it is paying off, though.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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  • 3 weeks later...
Anyone heard the aurender N100 yet?

thequietman

 

Yes, and people who attended AXPONA here in Chicago heard it in our room. I've sold a bunch.

 

Aurender recently announced the N100H, which has a 2TB hard drive inside, for $2699, and it's available. Some things were done to enable it to have sufficient power to handle a hard drive.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Just got my W20 hooked up to a Berkeley RS via AES, the sound is spectacular. Previously I was using a Mac Pro with Audender and an Alpha USB. The Aurender is surely better, with a much more transparent and natural sound. The software is a bit buggy, especially with Tidal, but mostly OK. I have not tried yet the Alpha USB with th Aurender. I'm told this is an even better set up as I like the simplicity of using less boxes ...

 

Congratulations! The W20 is, well, just amazing.

 

Problems with Tidal on the W20 and other models here virtually disappeared quite a while ago. I was using very early beta versions of the system software and Conductor app, which worked but were buggy, and then stability improved a lot with subsequent versions. Then for some reason I couldn't get it to work at all after some upgrades, which were coming on the order of once a week. I showed the issues to Aurender president Harry Lee on the N100 which I took along to California, and he worked closely with tech support (Eric Shim, mainly) and had everything working great the next day. I was the only dealer in the US with the problem -- one in the UK had something similar -- and the new versions did the trick. I can honestly say as a user that such support is extraordinary. I run out of superlatives for Harry Lee and Eric Shim's efforts and couldn't be happier, and not just because I'm a dealer.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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  • 2 weeks later...
Russellbobby and Crittertoo--

 

Please keep us apprised of your continuing observations regarding the N100. I have not seen many reviews by people who have owned both an Aries and an Aurender, so that is particularly useful information. In addition to SQ issues, I'm also interested in your experiences with the Conductor app.

 

I'm interested in both the X100 and N100 but I'm thinking that, on the surface at least, it appears the N100 may be more bang for the buck. The N100 features the full linear power supply, so in theory that may give it some advantage over the X100. The X100 offers larger internal storage options, but I'm not sure that is really a significant advantage in light of the fact that 1) you can apparently buy an N100 with either 2TB of conventional hard drive storage ($200 more) or 1TB of SSD storage (not sure how much more); 2) you can add storage by simply attaching a USB drive; and 3) the sonic quality of that additional storage is theoretically a non-issue since all of the music is playing from the internal 120GB SSD cache. So I'm not sure why I would pay $3500 or more for an X100 when I could get an N100 for about $1000 less and just add storage.

 

BPW -- you are a dealer for Aurender -- can you explain why one would choose the X100 over the N100?

 

Sure. The X100L comes with either 6TB or 12TB internal storage and can display cover art, etc. without having to scan external storage (NAS or USB) using Aurender Media Manager (AMM) to do so.

 

A 1TB SSD (Samsung 850 EVO) is $400 from Amazon. A customer who recently came by to pick up the N100 he ordered brought the SSD along which I was happy to install and format for him.

 

DZetye: Aurender currently streams Tidal only. It sounds amazing and is a joy to use. Roon is in the works.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Brian,

 

Please tell us about the new N10 (described at AudioStream here Aurender N10 | AudioStream). Is it the replacement for the S10? Is it better than the S10?

 

Bob

 

Bob, although I haven't yet heard the N10 there is no doubt it will thoroughly outperform the S10, which has been discontinued, and I have it on order. The full linear power supply, the significantly improved USB output section carried over from the W20, X100L, etc., and other characteristics point to a nice improvement. The W20 will continue to star as the top performer in the line, albeit at higher cost.

 

I anticipate having an N10 to demo here at my 2-day open house event with Brian Zolner of Bricasti Design the last weekend of June, when we will demonstrate the M1 DAC and M28 amplifiers.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Brian, you state in post #75 that "Roon is in the works." Do you have any more specific information? For example, there has been some discussion on these forums about how Roon will be working with Auralic to allow Roon to send music to the Aries for playback. Would the Roon/Aurender integration be similar? And do you have any information regarding how soon Aurender and Roon might be expected to have a working integration? I am probably not the only person who would LOVE to see this happen.

 

I don't have any info but know that tentatively it will happen. How it will compare with other integrations is unknown. Perhaps we'll see and hear something by RMAF. Meanwhile as I get more info I'll be happy to share it. I'd enjoy beta testing it as did for Aurender with Tidal streaming.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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my bad, the n100 does read external usb drives which connects to the n100. To get album art and search functionality and metadata, one needs to hook up the usb drives on the computer which AMM resides, scan the usb drives, the AMM will then transfer the db which she has built over to the N100, only then, one can search and see those album art and meta information. You then need to connect the same usb drive which has been scanned by AMM to the physical N100.

 

my apologies for the misinformation for SMB connection only.

 

Good comments, which match my understanding. The database is stored in the iPad, a big reason why the Conductor app is so responsive and enjoyable to use.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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I suspect what AMM builds is a index link to ALL the physical files which is uploaded to the aurender n series at the last session of the process. The AMM also builds the metadata information which is uploaded into the Conductor app. I suspect the Conductor data has only metadata information and not physical attributes to where the files are store.

I may be mistaken but believe it does have the location info, too.

 

On another note, if i were to add an optional HD into the n100, would i need to AMM to index those files too? Or it's auto?

You can install an SSD in the N100 but not a hard drive due to power supply limitations. Aurender tweaked things for the N100H to handle its 2TB HDD. The N100 or N100H works right away with the Conductor app for cover art and metadata stored on an internal drive, in the same way as for other Aurender models such as the X100L.

 

Forth coming reply this much appreciated.

 

Meanwhile enjoy the music :)

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Thanks Brian for the information, can i self install a 2GB SSD drive into the N100 or the N100 is limited to only 1GB SSD drives?

 

With internal ssd drives in the n series and traditional internal drives in the x series - has anyone done any comparison on SQ between them playing files from the internal drives? (leaving aside the bang for buck value)

 

The N100 should accommodate a 2TB SSD no problem, but they are expensive at this time.

 

As for sound quality I doubt there will be any difference between SSD and HDD since the music is all going through the caching SSD anyway.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Can you clarify? As for the "upper echelon" of music servers, it seems that Aurender is up there along with Baetis on the price point. However, the latter seeks to offer more as a platform for the videophile as well, not that I'd opt for that type of system. I'm not even interested in streaming at this point. A purpose built music server that takes a local bitstream and delivers it to a DAC is what I'm about. So, I'm especially interested in the N10 or a later N20. And I clearly don't need what a W20 offers given my Berkeley gear.

 

Steve, I don't care to elaborate but can say some of his assumptions/assertions are wrong and Aurender is not violating anything.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Brian, is there any guide for a DIY install for the SSD drives on to the Aurender N series? The format of the drive is NTFS or FAT32>

 

Thanks

The installation is easy. Remove the 8 screws holding on the top cover. Lift off -- this involves getting the top cover unstuck from the sticky foam pieces on the top of the heat sink and the power supply. The power and SATA cables run between the motherboard connections and the drive, which is oriented so the connections face the rear of the unit. Unscrew the angle-shaped bracket from the side of the case and screw the one side of the drive onto it -- if screws were not included with the drive you may need to visit your hardware store -- they are the same thread size as the screws holding the bracket onto the case side. Connect the cables, screw the bracket onto the case side (heat sink), and put the top cover back on.

 

Formatting of the drive must be done either by remote tech support or by your dealer. There is a special version of the Conductor app the dealer may have or can get which has a Format feature in the 'gear' menu.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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I'm not jealous, we outperform the W20 easily, the W20 was reviewed by 6moons it was hardly better than a mac mini.
LOL! Hardly better than a Mac Mini? That's far from what customers are saying. By the way, who is "we"?

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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  • 4 weeks later...
Hey Folks. Unfortunately these Aurender discussions have been disrupted by the postings of robertladru and have really gotten things off topic (IMO). I am extremely interested in hearing about the user experiences of owners of these units. How do they perform? What level of SQ? Is the music player stable or are you encountering playback issues such as dropouts, track skipping? How does the user experience compare with that of a computer platform? Please let us know. I am seriously considering either the N100 or X100 (not sure which is best for my set up). I am starting to get tired of all the variables that can complicate computer-based playback. TIA

 

According to this post by Chris Connaker, robertladru has been banned from this site.

 

I have not experienced dropouts or skipping with any of the Aurenders here (X100L, N100 w/ SSD, W20). As for which model you choose I recommend checking the selection guide on the Aurender site. You can read what others have posted about the sound quality compared to others such as the Auralic Aries and Mac Mini, and perhaps some will chime in here since I am biased.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Brian-

In another thread you mentioned the N10, yet the selection guide does not show it, nor could I find any information on it. The selection guide is very useful BTW.

 

There is a link to the N10 page below the picture in the selection guide. Here is the link.

 

My N10 will arrive probably this Friday. Because I have a special event here next weekend with Brian Zolner of Bricasti to demo the M1 DAC and M28 monoblocks, Aurender did us a favor by shipping mine early. Very excited.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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The W20 and the S10 I think it was had the AES/S/PDIF outputs and the X100x series only had the USB output.

 

From Astrotoy mentioning of the N20, here's an Aurender link for the N10. The N10 has 2 x 2TB drives + the 128GB SSD for playback. Also a on the fly conversion for DSD to PCM (why... anyway). Interesting. Welcome to see the inclusion of AES3, could be to appease the BADA owners, but a worthwhile output as well as USB.

 

This model would be priced above the X series I'd say, but by how much?

 

Both the N10 and W20 can convert DSD to PCM on the fly over SPDIF and AES/EBU, for the purpose of being able to play DSD files through DACs that are PCM only, and there are a couple of resolution options, I believe 176.4 and 88.2 kHz.

 

The N10 retails for $7999. The first production run sold out; the second somewhat larger production run should be available around early August.

 

My N10 should arrive in about an hour :-)

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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SOLD OUT? Sold out to who? :) I didn't think it was on the market yet. It would be nice if there was an option for 3tb HDDs. I'll wait to see how much better it is than the X or N100s and how much I spend on my new speakers. Then I think/hope my upgrade demons will be satisfied for a very long time.

 

I was told the first run was 50 units. A lot of dealers ordered them, and some wanted some for customers. The second run will be larger, and a bunch of them are sold.

 

The eagle has landed. I should know by tomorrow at the latest how it stacks up against the W20. It might be closer than you think.

 

It may be possible to substitute larger capacity drives. I'll ask.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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It may be possible to substitute larger capacity drives. I'll ask.

The N10 uses 2.5 inch hard drives. When capacities larger than 2TB are available, perhaps this will be possible. Meanwhile a NAS is the solution for those whose music libraries are larger.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Thanks for the pricing information while attainable still some clouds.... for those of us with large libraries >4TB external to the N10. If the internal drive on the N10 caches tracks that are currently playable, at some point the cache must fill and be discarded for newer information. Is it on FIFO basis, or is there some kind of search indexer which keeps a track of where files are located. Sorry if this has been covered before.

I don't know, but anything approaching the SSD's 240GB capacity is a lot of music to have in a playlist. Aurender could answer your question.

 

In that case, all one needs is the 128GB drive and let the Aurender fetch from various locations including network shares. In the past I found a NAS useless for moving large files around, wholesale, for library management, especially DSD and use a workstation type computer, hence the network share.

 

With the frequency of newer models appearing more often from Aurender, when are the offerings going to stable enough to avoid upgradeitis?

Sounds like a rhetorical question :) I don't change my computer or car every year, but some people do. That said, the N10 has pretty much all the features one could want.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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Photos of the internals:

 

Taken from in front of the unit. The three blue linear power supplies are obvious. The two 2.5" hard drives and the caching SSD are on the left side.

N10_EA_3_75.jpg

 

Taken from behind the unit. The cables to the drives are more visible.

N10_EA_4_75.jpg

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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  • 1 month later...
I'm using the android app... it is fit for purpose and easy to use on my Samsung S5... it is a few revisions behind their apple app(s), but the important functions are all there and it is stable.

 

I would never by an apple device just to function as a remote control and the android app already works way well enough for this not to be necessary... also they are supposed to be releasing a newer android app soonish.

 

If they do, great, but the current app is so far behind the iPad app. The only Apple product here is the iPad, and it does the job very well. It's not worth getting worked up about. Get an iPad and enjoy the full benefits you've been missing out on, which are many.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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